Act of God

Gatescarth Pass in the Lake District sees a lot of rain in almost every year, but the recent trend to ‘extreme weather events’ brings a level of impact that even the sturdiest road cannot resist. In the winter of 2016-16 a significant landslip brought-down tons of soil and loose rock on to the previously repaired and maintained carriageway. Gatescarth is open to the public with motor vehicles on a ‘permit day’ system, marshalled by local volunteers, and the local group of the Green Lane Association, and the Trail Riders Fellowship, have taken this engagement a step further by providing the cost of reinstatement.

The £2,500 donation covered the work of ‘uplands contractor’ Steve Foster, seen below getting to grips with a task that would otherwise have had to take its turn in a long list of road and path repairs in Cumbria and the Lake District National Park. The three ‘Gatescarth Marshals’ here are Robert Wilson, Roger Harris, and Steve Pighills. Details of the next ‘open day’ will be posted on the LDNPA website.